FED:Gay marriage academic, says Abbott

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2011
FED:Gay marriage academic, says Abbott

CANBERRA, Dec 2 AAP - Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the coalition's position on
same sex-marriage is unaltered and the question of a change to the Marriage Act is only
academic at this stage.

The Australian Labor Party national conference will on Saturday debate the issue of
same-sex marriage and there is a push on to amend the party's platform to back a change
to the laws.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has proposed allowing federal MPs a conscious vote on
the issue, if any bill was presented to parliament, and is against changing the act.

Mr Abbott said the coalition had held a clear position on the matter since 2004 when
it changed the Marriage Act to define such unions as between a man and a woman.

"If a proposal comes up before parliament we will deal with it in the normal way,"

he told journalists in Gosford on the NSW central coast on Friday.

"But at the moment it's really an academic question."

If a bill was presented to parliament, it's expected the coalition would have a binding vote.

At present, it does not allow a conscience vote on the issue.

Earlier on Friday, Labor minister Stephen Smith said if the coalition did have a binding
bloc vote, it would run against its portrayal of itself as a broad political church.

"That runs counter to everything I've heard Liberal party leaders say to me as a member
of the community for a long period of time," he told ABC radio.

"They keep on saying to me that they're a party of individuals and individual people
make their judgements."

AAP klc/klm/it

KEYWORD: GAY ABBOTT

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